It’s 2022, and I’m the newly appointed news editor at PCGamesN. I’d been in the post for less than a month, then Gamescom rolled around. I’d never done live event coverage – I joined games media mid-pandemic – but I knew it was an opportunity for the ages. Cut to a month late; I’m running around Kolnmesse sweating, cutting through crowds to get to the Metal Hellsinger show with Trivium’s Matt Heafy and Arch Enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz. It was the best kind of chaos, and I’d never experienced anything like it. Sure, it was a trial by fire, but I felt like getting burned.
But that was two years ago – Gamescom has continued to grow since then. As titans like E3 fell, and new kids like Summer Game Fest rose from the ashes, Gamescom has remained a staple, bringing together industry veterans and videogame enthusiasts from across the globe. I’ve watched it grow in scale, and 2024 certainly feels a lot bigger than previous years.
From Borderlands 4 to Mafia: The Old Country; the Indiana Jones and the Great Circle release date announcement to Dying Light: The Beast – my list of ‘upcoming PC games I need to buy’ seemed to grow with each passing moment. Opening Night Live was stacked, and the various Xbox showcases throughout the week also delivered a slew of exciting goodies (Redacted being my personal favorite). I ask Gamescom directors Tim Endres and Stefan Heikhaus if 2024 was, indeed, the show’s biggest year yet, and the answer is a resounding “yes.”
“Definitely. With 1,462 exhibitors showcasing upcoming games and projects, we reached a new record,” Endres tells me. “During the first post-COVID show in 2022, where we started off with more than 200,000 visitors. We reached another 335,000 visitors in 2024.”
Aside from the numbers, however, Endres highlights that it’s “the quality and variety of those attending Gamescom that makes it so special. On the one hand, we are very proud to see many triple-A publishers returning with their own booth to Gamescom like 2K, EA, Capcom, and Square Enix.
“On the other hand, we have an increased number of international participants,” he continues, referring to Gamescom’s country-specific stands that showcase national efforts. “Those country pavilions offer the unique possibility for smaller studios to come to Gamescom and present upcoming games and projects to trade visitors, journalists, and creators alike.
“To sum it all up, it’s not just a record number, but it’s also the variety of exhibitors that helps us to represent the whole ecosystem of gaming culture. Those who attend Gamescom do so because they want to experience the biggest gaming festival in the world. And that is what Gamescom is.”
It’s clear that Gamescom just keeps getting bigger, then, but what does the future look like? Are Endres and Heikhaus focused on exponential growth, or providing unforgettable experiences?
“With Gamescom continuing to progress, we want to make sure that each aspect we offer gets better; that we reinvent ourselves and stay in touch with our community,” Endres tells me. “And that is, ultimately, why Gamescom is growing and getting bigger – because we care about all gaming communities and we want to create a unique experience for everyone every year.”
“It is as they say: after Gamescom is before Gamescom,” Heikhaus continues. “So right now, we’re not just putting together lists of all the different things we did or creating reports but we’re also evaluating feedback. Feedback we receive from our industry partners, private, or trade visitors, and feedback we internally collect. With all these different opinions and views, we’ll try to see what worked well and where there is room for improvement.”
“We try to identify certain areas [of growth],” Endres notes. “For example, in last year’s evaluation, we saw that a majority of visitors wanted to see more board game and tabletop content at Gamescom. One year later, we were successfully able to implement the cards and boards area for the first time with many renowned brands being present.
“To us, feedback is one of the main pillars when it comes to ensuring that the event meets the fans’ and industry’s needs.”
If you weren’t at Gamescom this year, here are six great PC games we played at the show – I have my eye on Titan Quest 2. Alternatively, if you’re just looking for something to play right now, here’s our list of the best PC games ever made, as well as a rundown of some free PC games if you’re looking to save some cash.